Almanac

Fire station may move east along Woodside Road

by Dave Boyce

For decades, firefighters returning to the station at 3111 Woodside Road in Woodside have had to stop on the highway in front of the station, put their engines into reverse and back into the stalls. The absence of drive-through bays has been a key factor behind plans to rebuild theWoodside Fire Protection District station. And with individual rooms replacing the current firefighters' dorm, the plans have not included office space for administrative staff.

That limitation may be going away. The district is in preliminary talks about a possible land swap in which the fire district would build its new station about a half-mile to the east on a three-acre private property along Woodside Road at the northeast corner of Haciendas Drive, Fire Chief Dan Ghiorso told The Almanac.

The district's administrative staff has been out of the main station for almost two years, having moved to an office building at 808 Portola Road in mid-2016.

"We're a long way from doing anything yet" on the three-acre property, the chief said. "We have to make sure that this is going to work before we sink any money into it."

The unanswered questions include whether the property has easements; whether the geological and topographical conditions would accommodate a fire station; the results of traffic and noise studies; and how neighbors would view a fire station.

The California Department of Transportation would also have to approve an exit on to its highway, Ghiorso said. "We assume they will give us access, but I've never worked with Caltrans in that regard," he said.

The property includes a flat area where a house is now located and a "big slope," Ghiorso said. The district is talking with an architect, he said.

Once the key questions are answered, the capital fundraising campaign can begin, he said.

This story contains 298 words.

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